CHAD SHUTS QATARI EMBASSY, TELLS STAFF TO LEAVE

Chad announced Wednesday it was closing Qatar’s embassy in N’Djamena and giving its staff 10 days to leave, accusing Doha of seeking to destabilize the country via Libya.

“Given the continued involvement of the state of Qatar in the attempts at the destabilization of Chad from Libya, the government has decided on the closure of the embassy and the departure of the ambassador and diplomatic personnel from national territory,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“They have been given 10 days in this regard,” it said.

It added that the decision was driven by the will to “safeguard peace and stability in the region.”

Chad, Mauritania and Senegal all recalled their ambassadors from Qatar in June.

They acted after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen and Egypt broke off diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting Islamist extremists, a charge the tiny, gas-rich state denies